**An Egyptian tycoon sentenced to death last year for killing a popular Lebanese singer has appeared in court in Cairo for a retrial.**Hisham Talaat Moustafa, a high-profile member of the ruling party in Egypt, and co-defendant Mohsen al-Sukkari were granted a retrial in March.
They were convicted of the killing of Suzanne Tamim in Dubai in 2008.
The case has received much attention, as it involves a member of an elite often seen as being above the law.
At the court on Monday, Mr Moustafa denied the charges from inside a cage where both suspects were being held.
“It didn’t happen. None of that happened, sir,” he said.
Mr Sukkari, in a response to a judge, told the court: “I swear by God the Great that I didn’t commit any of that.”
Troubled life
Mr Moustafa had been having a relationship with Ms Tamim before her death.
He is alleged to have paid Mr Sukkari $2m (£1.3m) to kill Ms Tamim at one of Mr Moustfa’s hotels in an act of revenge after she spurned an offer of marriage.
Both he and Mr Sukkari were sentenced to hang, but a court of appeal last month granted a retrial on the grounds of legal errors.
The BBC’s Yolande Knell in Cairo said Ms Tamim was a singer as well known for her troubled private life as her talent.
She first found fame as the winner of an Arabic TV talent show.
Ms Tamim was found with her throat slit in a Dubai hotel in July 2008.
Our correspondent says the arrest and trial of Mr Moustafa caused surprise in Egypt where members of the political and business elite are often seen by the public as above the law.
If found guilty in this trial, the two defendants will be allowed to appeal the ruling and could face a third trial, Judge Ahmed Mekky told the Reuters news agency.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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